1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioning systems for motor vehicles and, more specifically, to a condenser with an integral receiver/dryer for an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle and a method of assembling the condenser.
2. Related Technology
Condenser assemblies for automotive vehicle air conditioning systems typically include a pair of headers and a core having a plurality of tubes, through which refrigerant flows, disposed horizontally between the two headers. An inlet is disposed near an upper portion of one of the headers and an outlet is disposed at the lower portion of either the same or the other header. Within the headers, partitions may be provided to divide the interior space of the headers into more than one fluidly separate spaces. As a result, the refrigerant is caused to flow in a serpentine fashion making more than one path through the tubes between the headers.
Typically attached to one of the headers and in fluid communication therewith is a receiver. Refrigerant condensed in the core flows into the receiver where it is separated into gas and liquid portions. Because the presence of water in the refrigerant will degrade the performance and structural integrity of the air conditioning system, a dryer is often associated with or located within the receiver. The dryer is located within the receiver so that the dryer is in contact with the liquid portion of the refrigerant facilitating the removal of water from the refrigerant. The dryer may itself be comprised of a bag or cartridge containing dryer granulates such as desiccant.
More recent designs of condenser assemblies have integrated the receiver/dryer with one of the headers mentioned above. One process of doing this has been to locate a plate within the header so as to divide the header into a manifold portion and a receiver/dryer portion. One drawback of this construction is that the design requires, for structural integrity of the system, a center line alignment of the core and the header containing the integrated receiver/dryer. Another drawback of this construction is that the joint between the manifold portion and the receiver/dryer portion cannot be inspected after brazing from the outside of the header.
Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a receiver/dryer structure, to provide a manifold structure, and then connect the respective structures. The manifold and the receiver/dryer are typically connected via a brazing method. More specifically, the manifold is positioned in desired location with respect to the receiver/dryer such that a portion of the manifold engages a portion of the receiver/dryer. The respective engaging portions are fixedly connected via a brazing method, such as a brazing oven. However, the manifold and the receiver/dryer may become partially or completely disengaged from each other before or during the brazing process, leading to an insufficient or an incomplete connection between the respective components.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an assembly and a method of assembly in order to sufficiently engage the manifold and the receiver/dryer.